On Sunday 9 October, the Bassendean Rail Museum will come alive for ‘Railfest’: an annual rail history extravaganza which features guided tours of full-size and model trains, swap meet stalls full of stuff for train buffs, plenty of trainy activities for kids and a buffet lunch in a railway carriage. It’s at 136 Railway Parade…

NEWLY minted WA local government minister Paul Miles is rejecting calls to intervene in the year-long Perth lord mayoral travel scandal saga. Just before he resigned, his predecessor Tony Simpson, was under pressure from Labor to take action and bring the Lisa Scaffidi court case to a conclusion. At the time Labor MPs David Templeman…

STIRLING has joined a burgeoning list of local governments to condemn the WA Property Council of Australia for producing a shoddy report on planning performance. Released earlier this month, the ‘Benchmarking greater Perth local governments’ report ranked councils on how up-to-date their planning schemes were, how much they delegated to officers, and how quickly they…

GET the kids down to Perth Cultural Centre for the school holidays to soak up the fun of the 2016 AWESOME International Arts Festival for Bright Young things. There’s an exciting line up of dance, music, visual arts and plenty of free activities for the whole family. The cultural centre will be a labyrinth of…

IN a bid to reduce garbage being sent to landfill Vincent council is considering offering bigger recycling bins to residents who accept a smaller rubbish bin. Mayor John Carey says a $20,000 trial will start in November.  “There’s no extra cost. What we’re trying to do is offer it as an environmental incentive; if you’re…

THE head of strings at  UWA, Shaun Lee, will be soloist for the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra’s first concert at North Perth’s Redemptorist Monastery today (Saturday September 24). Lee will head a program featuring Mozart’s Violin Concerto 3, Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances and Haydn’s Hen symphony. The new venue will see ample parking for concert-goers…

WHO keeps killing trees? Seven more have been snapped along Oxford Street, discovered Wednesday morning this week. They were part of Vincent council’s Greening Oxford Street and in death they join a number of more mature trees that have been trashed around town of late. Mayor John Carey sounded at his wit’s end about the…

THE WA Opposition has linked a billboard promoting Perth Liberal MLA Eleni Evangel to an investigation into lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi’s failure to declare gifts and travel. Using Parliamentary privilege, Girrawheen Labor MLA Margaret Quirk queried whether the billboard space, provided free of charge on an East Perth building part owned by Ms Scaffidi, created…

BAYSWATER council has started rolling out  a policy which mandates its 10 biggest playgrounds must be user-friendly for kids with disabilities. This month the council installed a roller table at Bardon Park, which lets kids with mobility problems pull themselves along. But as deputy mayor Stephanie Coates’ kids discovered this week, it’s pretty cool for…

LORD mayor Lisa Scaffidi and her allies have voted to keep a “gag” policy preventing Perth councillors from speaking their mind. Most councils take their lead from the local government act which says councillors can offer personal opinions, but can’t speak on behalf of the city, undermine a council decision or slag off their colleagues.…